Question Period Note: The Short-Term Compensation Fund, a Telefilm Canada-administered program to compensate for the lack of COVID-19 insurance coverage in audiovisual production

The Short-Term Compensation Fund for Canadian audiovisual productions was introduced in September 2020, in response to the lack of insurance to cover production interruptions or abandonments due to a case of COVID-19 on set. Administered by Telefilm Canada, the program originally had a budget of $50 million and was set to end on March 31, 2021. Due to ongoing industry need, in February 2021 and May 2021, the Government extended the Fund to March 31, 2022, and expanded its envelope to $149 million.

• The Short-Term Compensation Fund is just one example of the many measures the Government has introduced during the pandemic to support our cultural industries.
• The Fund compensates independent production companies for the interruption or shutdown of an eligible audiovisual production, due to confirmed cases of COVID-19 on set.
• The audiovisual industry in Canada is an important source of economic activity and employment for Canadians across the country, and the Government is committed to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the creative industries.

• Within the Canadian film and television production industry, the availability of financing from private and public funders is usually contingent on production companies being appropriately insured for their audiovisual projects. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the lack of insurance to cover production stoppages related to the COVID-19 created an immediate and unforeseen pressure that prevented the resumption of audiovisual production activity in Canada.
• In response, the Government of Canada introduced the $50 million Short-Term Compensation Fund (STCF) for Canadian audiovisual production in September 2020, until vaccination reached sufficient levels and as private insurance products were made available to provide a sustainable alternative. Administered by Telefilm Canada, the STCF compensates for the current lack of insurance coverage for filming interruptions and production abandonments caused by COVID-19.
• In April 2021, the Government, through the Minister of Canadian Heritage, extended the STCF and increased its envelope to $100 million to continue to help compensate for the continued unavailability of COVID-19 insurance coverage for production stoppages. In May 2021, the STCF envelope was further increased to $149 million to allow for more Canadian productions to be filmed that spring and summer, which are peak production seasons for the audiovisual sector.
• The STCF is open to production companies for film and television projects that are eligible for Canadian content certification by the Department of Canadian Heritage and whose filming is taking place in Canada.
• It provides compensation of up to 20% of eligible production budget up to a maximum of $1.5 million per production in case of interruption and up to a maximum of $3 million in case of cancellation due to a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, which occurs during production, of (i) a main cast member (ii) director, or (iii) an outbreak on set (e.g., multiple confirmed infections), and necessitates a production wide shutdown.
• The fund does not extend to interruptions resulting from general prohibition measures by national, provincial or local authorities. Loss of revenues (e.g., late delivery), expenses reimbursed by other sources (private insurers or other public programs) and expenses not directly related to the production (publicity, legal and insurance fees, interest on loans, etc.) are excluded from eligible amounts.
• From its initial launch on October 28, 2020, to March 31, 2021, the STCF, with its $50 million envelope, enabled 187 audiovisual productions to take advantage of the program’s benefit for a total coverage amount of $105 million, which represents a total volume of production activity of $607 million. During that period, there were only four (4) claims due to COVID-19-related interruptions. The total amount of compensation paid in relation of these interruptions was just over $265,000.
• From April 1, 2021, to October 25, 2021, 532 STCF applications were processed for a total coverage amount of over $345 million; this represents over $1.9 billion in production activity volume. As of October 25, 2021, two (2) claims have been paid out for a total compensation of approximately $236,500.
• In 2019-2020, Canadian-content film and television production volume reached $2.92 billion and created over 81,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

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